Page 110 - 2025-2026 Travel Guide to California

DRIVE TOUR
NAVIGATING A TOUR through
the Gold Country couldn’t be
easier: HIGHWAY 49—named
for the original 49ers—
traverses the entire region. It
stretches nearly 300 miles
through the Sierra foothills,
from DOWNIEVILLE in the
north to OAKHURST in the
south, linking all the Gold
Country’s major towns and
sights. Allow at least two days
for the journey. Start with a
mountain-biking excursion in
DOWNIEVILLE, poke around
the galleries and antique shops
of NEVADA CITY and drop by
the site where Marshall and
Sutter found those first
sparkling nuggets in COLOMA. SUTTER CREEK, with a bounty of inviting B&Bs
and restaurants serving local wine, is a good place to spend the night. On your
second day, explore ANGELS CAMP—perhaps pausing to wager on a frog if it’s
jumping season (the third week in May). Try your hand at panning for gold at
COLUMBIA STATE HISTORIC PARK and take a ride on the historic steam train
in JAMESTOWN’S RAILTOWN 1897 STATE HISTORIC PARK.
Among the most popular are Sutter Creek,
Nevada City and Murphys. The two largest
towns of the Sierra foothills—Sonora and
Placerville—continue to offer all this,
along with a wide range of motels, restau-
rants, and shops for every budget.
The Great Outdoors
Weather dependent from May to mid
October, the American River is California’s
108 2025-26 TRAVEL GUIDE TO CALIFORNIA
FLY-CASTING FOR TROUT, left; gold mine in
Amador County, bottom; Mount Shasta and Heart
Lake, opposite.
INSIDER’S TIP
The signatures of everyone from
Mark Twain to Ulysses S. Grant to
Charles Bolles (better known as Black
Bart) are on display in the register of
the historic MURPHYS HOTEL, one
of the oldest continually operating
hotels in California.
murphyshotel.com
top venue for whitewater rafting. The river
flow is controlled by releases from
upstream reservoirs, so rafters are assured
of good conditions. Outfitters offer half-
day, full-day and multi-day journeys
through a choice of several classes of
whitewater. In the northern Sierra, the
town of Downieville has become a center
for mountain biking. Local bike shops
offer rentals and shuttles on old mining
roads and single tracks from the casual to
the technical, including a 15-mile ride with
a 4,000-foot descent. Houseboaters flock
to vast, sprawling Gold Country reservoirs
such as New Melones Lake, Don Pedro
Lake and Lake McClure.
MYLES MCGUINNESS/GOLD COUNTRY VISITORS ASSOCIATION; MENKA BELGAL/GOLD COUNTRY VISITORS ASSOCIATION. OPPOSITE: MADDY M/SHUTTERSTOCKX